To: arutz-7@IsraelNationalNews.com
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject: Arutz-7 News Brief: Friday, August 4,
2000
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Friday, August 4, 2000 / Av 3, 5760
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. MORE ON BARAK AND JERUSALEM
2. TEMPLE MOUNT PRAYERS?
3. CNN RESTORES JERUSALEM TO ISRAEL
4. OVER THE PALESTINIAN FENCE
5. NEW HIGHWAY
***QUOTE OF THE DAY: Ehud Barak on negotiating
1. MORE ON BARAK AND JERUSALEM
The Prime Minister's Office related today to reports that Ehud Barak had
agreed to give the Palestinians full sovereignty over the Orient House in
Jerusalem. A statement released by the office said that there have been no
concessions in Jerusalem, and that while ideas were raised in Camp David,
no agreement was reached on anything.
A poll in today's Yediot Acharonot shows a wide margin between those
against a Palestinian state with its capital in Jerusalem and those who
oppose it: 56% are against, while 41% would agree. If elections were held
today, Binyamin Netanyahu would receive 46% of the vote, according to the
poll, while Ehud Barak would receive 42%. The same poll shows that Barak
would defeat Ariel Sharon. Attorney-General Elyakim Rubenstein (fax:
+972-2-627-4481) has still not announced his decision on whether or not to
indict Netanyahu on charges relating to the gifts and Amedi affairs.
2. TEMPLE MOUNT PRAYERS?
The Chief Rabbinate Council will vote on Monday on a proposal to establish
a synagogue on the southern edge of the Temple Mount. Haifa's Chief Rabbi
She'ar Yashuv-Cohen ruled several months ago that Jews who have taken the
proper Halakhic [Jewish legal] precautions may ascend to parts of the
Temple Mount. Sources in the Rabbinate estimate that the proposal will be
voted down.
3. CNN RESTORES JERUSALEM TO ISRAEL
Supporters of Jewish Jerusalem scored a victory yesterday, following their
e-mail campaign to CNN. An unknown number of users wrote to CNN to
complain about the appearance of Jerusalem on its weather site's
city-listing as a "city without a country." The list of Middle East cities
began with Jerusalem, followed by an alphabetical listing of countries with
their respective cities. As of 8 PM Israel time last night, readers who
complained of the inaccuracy received a reply explaining that the listing
for Jerusalem was changed to "Jerusalem, Israel," and that a note was added
on the bottom to the effect that "Palestinian and Arab leaders consider
part of Jerusalem the capital of the prospective Palestinian state." The
listing for Israel now includes the following cities: Eilat, Haifa,
Jerusalem, Ovida, and Tel Aviv.
4. OVER THE PALESTINIAN FENCE
Another sign that the Arabs do not take Israel seriously in its refusal to
allow a return of Arab refugees from 1948: Delegations of Arab refugee
camp residents have been visiting Israeli towns and photographing what they
claim are their old homes. Eitan Rabin writes in Ma'ariv that the security
forces have been receiving reports that the phenomenon is intensifying, and
that Arabs have visited Jaffa, Lod, Acre, and smaller outlying towns to
"check out" the territory. The Palestinian Authority is apparently
encouraging actions of this nature, with the cooperation of Islamic
organizations and Arab Knesset Members. A group of 50 Arabs recently
arrived in the northern Kibbutz of Beit HaEmek, as well as in Kibbutz Yad
Mordechai near Ashkelon. In both cases, as in others, the Arabs left after
an argument with the Jewish residents.
Arafat's intractability on Jerusalem and other issues at Camp David could
have been guessed by readers of the Palestinian press during the talks. So
writes Itamar Marcus, Director of Palestinian Media Watch. "Had Arafat
intended to move toward Barak and away from his traditional positions,"
writes Marcus, "he would have had to prepare his public opinion via the
media under his control. Instead he permitted the Palestinian leadership to
make pronouncements that cornered him into the same inflexible positions,
which were published in the Palestinian Authority's (P.A.) official
newspaper, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida. Arafat even allowed his newspaper to print
that it would be considered 'treason' were he to compromise in general, and
on Jerusalem and the refugee issue in particular..." The article appears
on in full on Arutz-7's website, at
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/english/newspaper/arabpress/pmw/pmw-030800.htm
Yet another article describes how Palestinian summer camps teach young
Arabs how to war with Israelis. New York Times reporter John F. Burns
wrote this past Wednesday of camps for 25,000 Palestinian teenagers which
offer "no fun-in-the-sun by a cool clear lake, no rousing sing-alongs
beside a roaring campfire," but rather "the chance to stage a mock
kidnapping of an Israeli leader by masked Palestinian commandos, ending
with the Israeli's bodyguards sprawled dead on the ground," a "mock attack
on an Israeli military post, ending with a sentry being grabbed by the neck
and fatally stabbed," and "the opportunity to excel in stripping and
reassembling a real Kalashnikov rifle." The article can be seen, after
registering, at
http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/mideast/080300palestinian-camp.html
5. NEW HIGHWAY
The Palestinian Authority is planning to pave a highway from Jenin
southwards to Shechem. The Palestinians signed a contract this week with
the American State Department, which will contribute $70-80 million towards
the project. The planned road is located totally in Palestinian-controlled
area, and will run roughly parallel to another already-existing road in
Israeli area.
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"I don't think it makes any sense to go into the details [of the conditions
for a possible Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon]. This is a different
culture of negotiation. Whenever you declare what you are willing to give
up, the negotiations will begin from this point on."
- Ehud Barak, quoted by Ilene R. Prusher, in The Christian Science Monitor,
Feb. 25, 1997
**************************************************************
To: arutz-7@IsraelNationalNews.com
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Sunday, August 6, 2000
Arutz Sheva News Service
<www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Sunday, August 6, 2000 / Av 5, 5760
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. YESHA COUNCIL PLANS "BARAK CONCESSION WEEK"
2. HOW TO EXPLAIN BARAK'S "UNFAIR" TACTICS
3. MKs IN GUSH KATIF
4. THE P.A. AND JERUSALEM
1. YESHA COUNCIL PLANS "BARAK CONCESSION WEEK"
The Yesha Council will conduct a series of events this week and next,
highlighting the various concessions made by Prime Minister Barak at
Camp David. So reports Haggai Huberman in HaTzofeh today. The events
will begin tomorrow with the posting of signs at major intersections
directing traffic to "Palestine" and "Little Israel," thus showing the
proximity to central Israel of the territories slated to be given
away. Other signs will read, "Stop - Border Ahead," and "Danger of
Shooting on this Road." A similar campaign will be carried out in
Jerusalem next week.
On Tuesday, bottles of water will be distributed to passers-by in
central Israel, with labels reading, "Barak is giving away Israel's
water supply." Opposition Knesset Members will take part.
On Wednesday, in possibly the most dramatic event, Yesha activists
will dress up as Arab refugees and knock on doors in Haifa, Acre, and
Jaffa and explain that they want "their homes" back. Tel Aviv's
northern suburbs may be included as well. Other planned activities
include Jordan Valley vigils and personal visits by Yesha residents to
Barak's home in which they will entreat him not to abandon them.
2. HOW TO EXPLAIN BARAK'S "UNFAIR" TACTICS
Yesha Council spokesman Yehoshua Mor-Yosef spoke to Arutz-7 today
about "the situation:" "Our information is that the talks between the
Israelis and the Palestinians are continuing, with the goal of holding
another summit within a month or so. As the talks continue, so do the
Israeli concessions: The latest is in the northern Dead Sea area,
where Barak has agreed to give up the road from the Dead Sea to
Jericho, Kalya - where the famous Attractsia water park is - and even
the archaeologically-valuable Qumran Caves."
Mor-Yosef said that Barak has slightly reversed himself on what he was
willing to offer in Jerusalem, "but as he himself admits, that which
was said is already engraved in the Palestinians' memory..."
Mor-Yosef added, "They are working on a way for Israel to give over
control of the Temple Mount and Jerusalem to the Palestinians without
really saying so... But the most basic problem preventing an
agreement, thank G-d, is that Arafat is demanding that Israel assume
full responsibility for the refugees. He will not settle only for
family-reunification and the like. We hope, therefore, that the
Jerusalem-refugees combination will prevent an agreement..."
When asked about prospects for the future, Mor-Yosef said that the
picture is complex:
"Polls show that the public is against each of the individual
elements of Barak's proposed agreement, but that when these elements
are presented all together and respondents are asked if they are in
favor of 'an agreement,' slightly more than half say yes. It appears,
then, that Barak is unfairly attempting to force the Israeli public
into either accepting an agreement that it doesn't want or facing war.
We are now working very hard to figure out how to explain this
complex message to the Israeli public in a clear manner."
Ha'aretz commentator Uzi Benziman related to this point today:
"For the past month, the state has been run according to rules the
legitimacy of which is crumbling with every day of crisis. You can be
patient with a government that doesn't have a parliamentary majority
for a few interim weeks. But it can't go on for months. Barak
justifies his readiness to absorb the blows of parliamentary defeats
resulting from the coalition collapse by saying that over the coming
three weeks he'll be able to determine which way Yasser Arafat wants
to go; but there are growing signs that the governmental chaos could
also last three months... Constitutional and governmental foul play
cannot be purified by [the claim of ] advancing the peace process. No
matter what the quality of the Knesset's membership, and no matter how
determined the Prime Minister is to achieve a peace deal with the
Palestinians, peace must be achieved through the rules of democracy
and not by parliamentary trickery... Barak says that the absolute
majority still hasn't shown up in the no-confidence motions - which,
if one of them were to pass, would automatically result in the
collapse of the government and new elections. But that's grasping at
straws. The Knesset has said clearly that it opposes the Prime
Minister's peace politics. After all, that's the main reason the
coalition fell apart and he lost his blocking majority. Indeed, it
only raises the question whether Barak still is a legitimate
negotiator on behalf of the State of Israel..."
3. MKs IN GUSH KATIF
MK Yuri Stern and other members of the National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu
faction toured Gush Katif today. Speaking with Arutz-7 from there,
Stern said, "Our job is not to worry about whether Barak intends to
hand over all or part of the communities here. We have to worry about
how to stop him. He has lost his majority in the Knesset, where
there are 61 against him. His being toppled is just a question of
time." When asked why, if so, he was not toppled last week, Stern
explained, "David Levy and his brother Maxime [of the Gesher faction
of One Israel] didn't want to vote against him on the very day that he
[David] resigned as Foreign Minister... They are now in our camp,
however. In addition, on the day Barak signs an agreement, Shinui
will allow its MKs to vote their conscience - and we feel that we can
count on two of their votes. If Barak does not sign any agreement,
it's a bit different: There will still have to be new elections, but
he will have a couple more of months of maneuvering..."
Stern admitted that Barak will therefore try to keep his government
from falling for as long as it takes to sign an agreement, and will
then attempt to sway public opinion to support the agreement by
"threatening us with a war if the public doesn't agree to the
agreement that he, 'Mr. Security,' signed. In any event, however, I
don't believe there will be a referendum, but rather new elections
instead. This has its disadvantages for him as well, but he'll have
no choice... [Regarding the option of convening a mid-recess Knesset
session for a no-confidence motion,] all the opposition members have
signed a letter in advance saying that they agree to a no-confidence
motion. It will be hard to convene the entire Knesset during the
recess, because of vacations and trips and the like, but Barak should
know that we hope to do it anyway even if it will be hard."
8. THE P.A. AND JERUSALEM
Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Huberman reports that the Palestinians
don't view the Camp David summit in the same way the rest of the world
does: "For them, it was not a failure, but rather another
accomplishment in their negotiating strategy. PA senior figure
Muhammad Dahlan, for example, said a few days ago that the
Palestinians succeeded at Camp David in breaking the long-held Israeli
taboo of not discussing refugees and Jerusalem. The PA is anxious to
reach an agreement soon, in order to take advantage of all of Barak's
concessions." This does not necessarily mean that there will soon be
another summit, Huberman said, because "there is a consensus that a
summit will not be held until everything is closed, and it is hard to
see how Arafat gives in on Jerusalem."
"By the way," Huberman said, "Feisal Husseini made sure to emphasize
to a group of Arab reporters recently that the rights of Israeli Arabs
in eastern Jerusalem would not be hurt, as their main fear is that
they might lose their Israeli rights and accompanying national
insurance payments... he also said that the Jewish 'settlers' of the
Jewish Quarter would be allowed to stay if they wish." Huberman
emphasized that Palestinian position papers say that they are willing
to give "control" - not sovereignty - of the Jewish Quarter and the
Western Wall to Israel.
**********************************************************
To: arutz-7@IsraelNationalNews.com
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Monday, August 7, 2000
Arutz Sheva News Service
<www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Monday, August 7, 2000 / Av 6, 5760
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. RABBI YOSEF'S REMARKS
2. LABOR PARTY COURTING SHAS, DESPITE ALL
3. CHIEF RABBINATE PUTS OFF DISCUSSION OF TEMPLE MOUNT SYNAGOGUE
4. KINNERET DROPS DANGEROUSLY
1. RABBI YOSEF'S REMARKS
Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef's attempt to explain the Holocaust continues to be
the center of attention in the media. Rabbi Yosef, in a synagogue
lecture on Saturday night, said, "The six million Jews, all those poor
people who were lost at the hands of those evil ones, the Nazis, may
their names be blotted out - was it all for nothing? No. This was all
the reincarnation of earlier souls, who sinned and caused others to
sin and did all sorts of forbidden acts. They returned in
reincarnation in order to set things right, and received, those poor
people, all those torments and troubles and deaths under which they
were killed in the Holocaust. They were all reincarnated souls. This
is not the first time in their lives that their souls have appeared.
They came to do atonement for their sins." (Translation appeared in
Ha'aretz)
Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau responded to the remarks, "This
generation is too close to try to understand the reasons for the
Holocaust... I don't know the meaning of the Holocaust. For 50 years
I have been trying to understand why my brother died there and I
survived." He said that when Rabbi Yosef read a book written by Rabbi
Lau's brother about the Holocaust, "I know that he stopped to weep
after each page."
Other responses:
President Moshe Katzav said that if the press reports of what
Rabbi Yosef said are true, then he does not accept the remarks, but
added that he would not "discuss the issue of reincarnation, which is
a theological one."
Prof. Avi Ravitsky, associated with the Meimad party, said that
Rabbi Yosef's approach represents a "marginal but credible" school of
thought in Jewish philosophy.
Meretz Knesset Members took advantage of the tempest to stingingly
attack Rabbi Yosef.
Shas MK Shlomo Benizri said that reincarnation is an issue that
belongs in the Torah study halls, "where Rabbi Yosef was giving a
lecture," and that the true desecration of the memory of the Holocaust
survivors was perpetrated by those who made the issue into a matter of
public controversy.
Rabbi Yosef "clarified" yesterday that the victims of the Holocaust
were "all holy, all pure."
2. LABOR PARTY COURTING SHAS, DESPITE ALL
One Israel leaders now say publicly that despite their past bitter
disagreements with Shas, including the most recent controversy over
Rabbi Yosef's remarks, they are still willing to "swallow their pride"
and welcome Shas back into the coalition "for the sake of the peace
process." Minister Matan Vilna'i met with Shas leader Eli Yeshai
yesterday, and with Prime Minister Barak today, and said later that
Shas agrees that "there is something to talk about." Vilna'i said
that he is aware of the "pain" of Barak-supporters who do not want to
see Shas in the coalition, but "there are even weightier
considerations at present, and we have a tremendous national
responsibility."
Prime Minister Barak met today with another possible coalition
partner, MK Roman Bronfman of the two-seat Democratic Choice faction.
MKs Bronfman and Alexander Tzinker were originally elected on the
Yisrael B'Aliyah list, but broke away to form their own, more
left-wing, faction shortly after the elections. Barak is also
attempting to keep his present government in working order. He held
meetings today in the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Education,
where he is taking over for the resigned ministers. Yesterday, he
delegated the Housing Ministry to Communications Minister Ben-Eliezer,
Interior to Minister Chaim Ramon, and Religious Affairs to Minister
Yossi Beilin.
Another Camp David-like summit appears possible, said Yasser Arafat
today. Meanwhile, the Palestinian National Council has established a
special committee to work to "tighten bonds" between the PA, Hamas,
and the Islamic Jihad. Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Huberman reports
that the latter two may even join the PLO. Palestinian sources have
proposed an "open city" plan for Jerusalem; Minister Vilna'i's
response: "I haven't seen this plan, but all I know is that Jerusalem
must remain Israel's capital, united, and under Israeli sovereignty.
Everything else can be talked about."
3. CHIEF RABBINATE PUTS OFF DISCUSSION OF TEMPLE MOUNT SYNAGOGUE
The Chief Rabbinate Council decided today to establish a rabbinical
committee to investigate the matter of constructing a synagogue on the
Temple Mount. Requests from government and other sources had been
received by the Council this week to postpone the discussion of such a
"politically loaded" question. Rabbi She'ar Yashuv Cohen, Haifa's
Chief Rabbi and the driving force behind the proposal to build the
synagogue, told Arutz-7 today that the proposal is not a new one.
"Former Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren, for instance, proposed this before
and wrote about it at length. It was never carried out for political
and other reasons. Now, with the change in the Mount's status quo by
the Moslem Waqf's illegal construction there, and with the Camp David
proposals to give over the entire Mount to the Palestinians... we
feel that it is time to strengthen our hold there." The Council has
postponed its discussion of the matter until the new committee looks
into and prepares position papers on the matter.
Rabbi Cohen said later that the issue of a synagogue should be raised
in future negotiations with the Palestinians, "as it would be
preferable to do this in coordination with them."
4. KINNERET DROPS DANGEROUSLY
The level of the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret) has dropped below the
official "red line," 213 meters below sea level. Water will be
continued to be pumped from the Kinneret, however, and many experts
feel that the 213-meter level is no longer relevant. The official
"red line," beyond which it is forbidden to pump, may soon be changed
to 214 meters below sea level.
***************************************************************
To: arutz-7@IsraelNationalNews.com
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Wednesday, August 9, 2000
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2000 / Av 8, 5760
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. BARAK REWARDS ASSOCIATION CRONY
2. NETANYAHU PLANS COMEBACK
3. KATZAV AGAINST EXPULSION FROM HEVRON
4. MEIMAD AND NRP TO COOPERATE?
5. LIEBERMAN OPPOSES EMBASSY MOVE NOW
1. BARAK REWARDS ASSOCIATION CRONY
Prime Minister Barak's designated choice for Director-General of the
Foreign Ministry, Alon Liel, was an active member of one of the
illegal Barak campaign associations. So reveals a new official
investigative report commissioned by the Associations Registrar. The
report shows that the Roved Association - which purported to
"encourage immigration to Israel" actually directed much of its money
towards paying for Barak campaign polls. Liel's job in the
association was to prepare position papers analyzing the poll
findings.
Dr. Gavriel Isaac, the investigator appointed by Associations
Registrar Dr. Amiram Bogat, submitted his report to Barak, State
Comptroller Goldberg, Attorney-General Rubenstein, and the police.
His findings represent an upgrade in the investigation, reports
Arutz-7's Effie Meir, "in that we are no longer dealing with
journalists' findings or even those of the State Comptroller, but
rather of an official investigator." Eyewitnesses such as Janet
Aviad, who served as the Roved Fund Director for a time, and who
testified that much of the monies went straight into the campaign
polls, buttress the findings. "The police claim to have 30
investigators working on the Barak associations," reports Meir, "but
in practice something seems to have been preventing them over the past
few months from taking the obvious next step of questioning the senior
figures named in the case, namely, Cabinet Secretary Yitzchak Herzog,
Tal Silberstein, and even Ehud Barak himself. Journalist Kalman
Liebskind told me today that the small fry who were investigated by
the police said that the interrogations were laughably superficial."
Likud MK Michael Eitan responded to the new associations-scandal
revelations by calling on Atty.-Gen'l Elyakim Rubenstein to hasten the
investigation on the issue. "We cannot settle for a situation in which
the justice system drags its feet on these issues until after the next
elections," he said.
2. NETANYAHU PLANS COMEBACK
Former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu appears to have returned to
politics. He has met, over the past few days alone, with Shas leader
MK Eli Yeshai and National Religious Party leader Rabbi Yitzchak Levy.
Rabbi Levy proposed that Netanyahu not wait for the State Prosecutor
to make a decision on his possible indictment, but to announce his
candidacy immediately.
Former Yesha Council Secretary-General Aharon Domb, who strongly
opposed toppling Netanyahu two years ago, accompanied Netanyahu to the
meeting with Rabbi Levy. He told Arutz-7 today, "I personally think
that Netanyahu should return, but as long as the State Prosecution has
not yet decided in his case, he will not make an official announcement
either way. If the Prosecution decides to indict him, then he will
have a problem..." Domb said that in principle, "I recommend to my
friends that if they want to prevent Jerusalem from being divided,
then the one with the best chances to unseat Barak is Netanyahu."
Domb dismissed claims that Netanyahu himself had made some hefty
concessions in Hevron and at Wye, saying, "This has long been my
argument with some of my best friends. We want to keep all of Eretz
Yisrael, but we simply have to distinguish between what we want and
what can be attained. We have always been taught to want the absolute
best - but it was this type of thinking that got us Barak and his
government."
MK Tzvi Hendel (National Union) responded:
"It was not MKs of the National Union who toppled Binyamin Netanyahu.
It was rather the Likud, and Netanyahu himself at the helm, who
toppled him. We have nothing personal against him. When he made
concessions, we fought him, and when he did not carry out the
concessions because of his famous demand for reciprocity, we supported
him. We have no problem with the man, but just with the way." Hendel
said that at present, "after Camp David, it has to be obvious to every
realistic person that the Oslo process is dead. Arafat does not want
peace with us, and Peres and Beilin knew this in advance. I can't
prove this, but if Rabin - who talked about progressing [with the Oslo
process] in stages, so that we could check our progress - would have
seen to what extent this process has deteriorated, he would certainly
have stopped it. If Barak would take the same approach, the entire
nation would be behind him, except for the fanatic left-wing led by
Peres and Beilin."
3. KATZAV AGAINST EXPULSION FROM HEVRON
President Moshe Katzav expressed his opposition today to the expulsion
of Hevron's Jewish community. Katzav, reacting to Palestinian claims
that Prime Minister Barak may have agreed at Camp David to the
expulsion under a final-status agreement, said that Hevron was the
capital of the Jewish people even before Jerusalem. "Can you possibly
conceive of a situation in which Jews would not be able to live in
Hevron?" asked the President. Chief PA negotiator Saeb Erekat says
that Israel offered to expel all the Jews of Hevron under the
final-status agreement, to gradually empty out other Jewish
settlements, and to release all imprisoned Arab terrorists. The
response by Barak's office: "It's all speculation." The response from
Hevron:
"The Jewish Community of Hevron will not be evacuated, the plot will
not succeed, and 'he who is wise will understand.' Hevron is precious
to the entire Jewish nation."
Minister Yossi Beilin reacted by saying that the claim is not true
"both factually and conceptually." He said that the concept of the
government is to concentrate Jews in blocs and not to evict them, and
that he is personally against the expulsion of Hevron's Jews.
Beilin and Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami will depart tomorrow for an
"information campaign" throughout the world. Prime Minister Barak
will begin a five-day vacation tomorrow.
4. MEIMAD AND NRP TO COOPERATE?
Leaders of Meimad, the left-wing religious Zionist group that joined
Ehud Barak's One Israel movement last year, met with leaders of the
National Religious Party today. On the agenda: "Concern over the
future of religious Zionism." Meimad Rabbis Amital and Melchior sent
a letter to Barak in Camp David saying that they would never agree to
a division of Jerusalem or to the continuing Palestinian incitement.
One of the three member groups of One Israel has already basically
left the confederation - Gesher and its two MKs, David and Maxime
Levy. Meimad has recently rejected talk that it, too, would leave,
but the results of today's meeting may indicate otherwise. Rabbi
Yitzchak Levy and Sha'ul Yahalom represented the NRP, while Rabbis
Yehuda Amital, Michael Melchior, and Yehuda Gilad were there for
Meimad. Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Seri reports that the two sides
agreed that their representatives would enter into a dialogue and
examine the possibility of establishing a joint party framework for
the next Knesset elections.
5. LIEBERMAN OPPOSES EMBASSY MOVE NOW
Senator Joseph Lieberman, the Democratic party's Vice-Presidential
candidate, opposes moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem
at present. In an exclusive CNN interview last night, Lieberman said,
"I have been a supporter of moving our embassy to Jerusalem; it just
seems to me that in every other country in the world, we put our
embassy in the city that the country says is its capital... The piece
of land which we already have designated for the American embassy in
Jerusalem is in a part of Jerusalem that was Israeli back to 1948. So
under no settlement would that change. I must tell you right now, I
think it would not be a good idea to do that while there is still the
flame of hope burning about the Camp David [talks]...
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